Chapter 6 - A Crowded Camp
Days 11-13
After dumping the bodies of the horsemen in the woods, the adventurers assessed their situation. Trykaar wanted to take the wagon and horses and try to find a route that bypassed the camp to the north. The others were hungry for more Genasi blood. So leaving Trykaar and Sebestyrn to take the wagon, horses, and captive elf back westward down the road, Blixhaven, Jrak, and Neela made their way back down the road towards the outpost that had been spotted earlier.
Realizing that the half-ogre would not likely be stealthy enough to approach the outpost unseen, they decided to arrange a ruse. Jrak and Neela would approach the outpost, with Jrak pretending to seek a reward for the "captive" half-orc. Blixhaven would cover them from the safety of the woods. Coming upon the outpost, Jrak managed to convince the somewhat confused sergeant of his honest intentions, and a guide was summoned from the cottage to escort them into the main camp. As the guide approached, Jrak and Neela sprung their attack. As another Genasi emerged from the cottage, Blixhaven feathered him with an arrow and ran to assist his colleagues. In less than half a minute, all the Genasi lay dead. After ransacking the cottage and finding nothing of use, the adventurers put it to the torch and hurried to catch up with Trykaar.
Knowing that the Genasi were likely to be on their trail, Trykaar's plan suddenly seemed more attractive. A path wide enough for the wagon was found leading northward, and the party began to climb their way out of the river valley. As they climbed, they could see the thick smoke of the burning cottage, and eventually a large number of figures swarming around the site. The watchtower could now be seen south of the river as well, only a few miles distant.
Following the path through some long-abandoned ruins, the party was alerted to screams ahead of them. Dismounting from the wagon, they were surprised to see human figures fleeing towards them. Women and children with terrified looks on their faces pleaded for assistance from skeletal assailants that they feared were close on their heels. Directing the peasants to the safety of the wagon, the heroes charged onwards, passing through the breaks in an ancient stone wall to see a pair of men desperately protecting a young child from skeleton warriors that seemed to explode forth from the ground itself, swinging lengths of tree root at the unarmoured peasants whose spears glanced ineffectively off of their assailants.
Charging in, Neela scooped up the child and carried him off to safety, while Blixhaven helped a wounded man. All were soon under attack as more of the skeletons emerged from the earth. Up close, it could be seen that these were no ordinary skeletons. Their "bones" seemed made of rock and hard earth, and they could move underground as easily as above. But rock yielded as easily as bone to the mighty maul of Jrak Clawpike. With every swing, his mighty hammer cleaved through his enemies, clouds of dirt and rock filling the air and rattling off of the ruined stone walls around him. As his allies scrambled to save the peasants, he destroyed any skeleton that emerged to stand in their way, until there were no more.
As the din of battle faded, the wails of the women and children became more urgent. Following their urgent directions, the adventurers went to see if any of their loved ones had survived the attack. Bodies were strewn over a trampled path leading off to the north, but remarkably many of them lived. Amongst the twenty bodies that were found, nine still clung to live and were carried back to the ruins where refuge was found in the remains of an ancient tower. The eight peasants who had been saved began caring for the wounded, including the guide who had promised them passage across the Huladek River. Realizing that so many wounded could not be transported in the wagon, and unwilling to abandon them to the Genasi patrols, the party decided to set up camp in the ruins.
The next day saw none of the peasants recovering consciousness, but it did bring a Genasi patrol. Spotting them while on a patrol, Neela was able to warn his colleagues, and an ambush was set up where the path passed through the ruins. The party remained undetected as the six Genasi walked unaware into the trap, and were quickly cut down in a flurry of fists, sword, arrow, and bolt. That night, Neela was surprised while on watch by a mysterious figure in the shadows. After dropping his weapons as requested, the figure revealed itself to be a goblin who introduced himself as Ajani, leader of a group of warg rider auxilia of the Legion. A short discussion revealed that his goblins had been occupied with harassing the Genasi in the area, and were in fact responsible for the ambush that the party had come across two days before. Warning the party to seek safety, the Goblin and his fellow warriors disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared.
The second night of rest saw all but three of the humans recover consciousness. Unfortunately, the guide was one of those who remained unconscious, and it was decided that the group should rest one more day. As the day before, the members of the party took turns patrolling the area around the ruins, alert for Genasi patrol. Thus it was that early in the afternoon, Trykaar came across a pair of Genasi walking up the road towards the keep. After returning to the campsite to seek out Neela, who was also on guard duty, the pair returned to seek out the Genasi. Not finding them on the road, they eventually spotted the pair hunting for rabbits in the woods. The impetuous Neela charged in to attack, but found them to be better trained than expected. Before she knew it, she was flanked and was severely wounded by a pair of sword slashes, one of which tore a nasty gash across her chest, making the fight even more difficult. Fortunately, Trykaar followed less than a half-minute behind and was able to aid her in slaying her foes, but not before their shouts for help were answered from two separate directions. Four more Genasi soon arrived, but were also defeated by Neela and Trykaar, but Neela was again injured. This time it happened when her crossbow, held awkwardly due to the pain from her chest injury, recoiled against her wrist and sprained it. Hearing more shouts in the distance, the pair were finally convinced that discretion was the better part of valour and stole quietly back to their camp.
Would the Genasi follow?
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